


Learning to live with change

by Lu_Jack



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Blood, Dragons, F/F, F/M, Fighting, Gay Sex, Itd be in later chapters though, M/M, Maybe - Freeform, Multi, Not Beta Read, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Possible Mpreg, Sickness, Violence, We Die Like Men, hyrbids, in later chapters though, not sure yet - Freeform, possible sex, possibly, we’ll see
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:48:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25943857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lu_Jack/pseuds/Lu_Jack
Summary: Keith and Lance have been captured on a mission gone wrong while they were helping to release a planet from Galra control. With no outside help they need to figure out how to escape, with the added challenge of being injured as well. Or is there help?When they do escape they end up stranded on a planet that's had no experience traveling outside their word. It's not a primitive planet, they've just had no need to leave their atmosphere.The two are stuck on this planet until the rest of Voltron can find them. Until then they need to heal, get used to sudden changes, and learn how to live with these aliens.Will the team find them? Will things ever go back to how it used to be? Or will they have to learn to live with their changes permanently?Read to find out!(((This is a rewrite of my old story "Stupid Magic Dragon Fruit" which is only posted on wattpad. Not on AO3.I am also posting this fanfic on wattpad. My account is @ Lu-Jack)))
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 2
Kudos: 40





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here's your handy-dandy warning that there will be injuries and blood and possibly minor torture or at least mention of torture in this chapter.  
> You have been warned!!

Lance carefully propped up a semi-conscious Keith against the wall next to him, wincing when he groaned softly and stiffened.

"Sorry," Lance apologized, "but I gotta get a good look at your side." He said, before carefully peeling away the shirt of the prison rags Keith was wearing, the coarse and dirty fabric sticky with blood.

Keith's stomach was covered in large dark and angry bruises, and his side from the bottom of his ribs down to his hip was haphazardly wrapped with the poor excuse for bandages they'd made out of lances own prison shirt to try and stop the bleeding from the large gash, and to try and keep it from getting infected. They'd been soaked through with blood, but the bleeding seemed to slowly be stopping, thankfully. He'd gotten the wound the day before when they'd been captured and Keith had taken a shot meant for Lance. Had it been the day before though? There was no way to tell the time, so he wasn't quite sure.

They'd been trying to free a planet from Galra control, and had been winning, when a second wave of troops hit and over powered them, the others busy fighting of their own troops and protecting the natives to come as back up, although Lance was pretty sure Hunk would try and send a warning each time he saw troops headed in their direction, he couldn't quite remember all the details, most of the fight was a blur now that he tried to remember it.

He and Keith had been taken to the main fleet, to the command ship even, and had been stripped of their armor, helmets, and bayards, shoved into a cell, and tossed a couple of tattered shirts and pants to wear while they waited for a few druids to show up so they could start their inevitable interrogation. That's what the galra did. They took you and only kept you alive if you were valuable or had information. So it wasn't likely they'd kill them, but they weren't going to keep them comfortable.

Lance gently began peeling the makeshift bandages away, gently shushing Keith as he groaned and subconsciously tried to push his hands away. "I know it hurts but I need to see how bad it is." He said softly. 

Keith had been conscious for a good portion of the day -had it been a day? A few hours? Or maybe more than a day?- and had only really gotten worse after they'd been taken out and separated for interrogation. It seems the galra had learned a bit about humans and how they were much more fragile than galra -Lance didn't want to think about how they learned but knew it must have been from Shiro, Matt, and Mr.Holt- since they didn't use the same brutal methods they'd seen and heard of them using to other prisoners in the past. That doesn't mean they were any less painful, just not as lethal.

Lance wasn't quite sure what had happened to Keith, but Lance had been given an electric shock each time he either didn't answer a question or they saw threw him lying, and he still felt jittery, sore, and one of his arms or legs would spasm occasionally. Keith had barely been conscious when he'd been dragged and tossed back into the cell, and had only grunted out something about getting beaten, which would explain the harsh bruises that covered his torso and stuck out on his pale skin in sharp contrast.

Lance carefully inspected the wound, doing his best to not touch it or the area around it, and deemed it non-life threatening. It looked shallow, which Lance assumed was good, and the blood had begun to clot. They just needed to make sure an infection didn't form. He had very little medical training, since he'd only just begun the first aid class at the garrison when they left earth, and the castle had the pods so they hadn't needed to really know until that point. That's probably something he and the others should work on...

He carefully re-wrapped the bandages around Keith's side, apologizing when Keith hiss and flinched while muttering curses, before lowering his shirt again. He gently moved Keith so that he was leaning against his shoulder, telling him to sleep for now and that he'd wake him up soon, deciding that they shouldn't both sleep at the same time in case someone came into their cell.

Keith glared at him, muttering something about being fine and being able to stay awake, but didn't move from where Lance had settled him, slowly nodding off a few minutes later much to Lances relief -or finally submitting to unconsciousness, but Lance shoved that thought away.

Lance sat there in silence, the only sounds being his breathing, Keith's breathing -which was a bit shallow, but to be honest so was Lances- and the guards patrolling on the other side of their door. There was only a small grated window in the door that was almost too tall for Lance to look through, and only let in minimal light, so there wasn't much he could do except sit and think as they waited for the next round of interrogation that was bound to happen.

He couldn't tell if time had passed slowly or quickly, but it seemed all to soon when their door was opened and several guards walked in, snatching up Keith and dragging him away. In the process he'd woken up, and Lance could see him kicking and trashing as best he could as he was dragged in the opposite direction, spitting out curses. Lance also struggled, but quickly gave up as their grips on his arms tightened painfully, no doubt leaving bruises.

He was taken back to the room he'd been in before, and strapped to the same device that had electrocuted him earlier. He gulped and tried to mentally prepare himself. He wasn't allowed to break. He couldn't tell them anything.

-

Lance was drifting in and out of consciousness, his vision fading between black and blurry. He didn't even realize he was back in their cell until Keith was thrown in after him a few minutes later. Everything hurt. He felt like he couldn't breath, like he'd been scorched from the inside out. His skin tingled painfully and felt too tight in some areas, and was incredibly sensitive yet numb at the same time. They'd used stronger shocks this time, and they had lasted longer as well. He was sure he had passed out at some point and was just drifting between now.

He let out a choked whimper when someone grabbed his arm and seemingly struggled to sit him up, only realizing after a few long seconds that it was keith.

He forced his eyes open wider and tried to take in what new damage Keith had despite his blurry vision. He had a large bruise on his face that was already turning an ugly black and blue. His lip looked busted, and he had a gash on the side of his head, it was bleeding a lot and Lance couldn't see how big it actually was. It looked like there was more blood on his shirt than their had been earlier as well, which worried Lance. He opened his mouth to say something when his vision faded again, and he only managed to groan as he leaned heavily against the wall.

".....yo...ther....lanc.....he....don...all...eep.....you............LANC-"

Lance had been drifting off into the darkness, hearing and ignoring the muffled voice, it felt like his head was under water, and he had finally let the darkness engulf him when his face suddenly flared with pain and his eyes shot open.

Kieth was in front of him, a worried look on his face. Lances cheek stung, and he sluggishly raised a hand to touch the stinging skin. "...keith?" He mumbled softly.

Keith seemed to sag slightly. "You with me Lance?" He asked.

"What?" He asked, glancing around to try and figure out why his cheek suddenly hurt.

"Sorry," keith muttered, "I needed to keep you awake." He said, before grunting softly as he moved to sit next to Lance. "I didn't slap you too bad did I?"

"You slapped me?" Lance asked as he turned to look at him, his hand still cupping his stinging cheek.

"Yeah I did," Keith said, "they really did a number on you didn't they." He added.

Lance hummed in response and moved to lean against Keith's shoulder.

"Hey, no falling asleep now, I don't know if that'll make it worse." Keith said as he gently shook lances shoulder, getting a soft groan in return.

He must have managed to doze off at some point despite Keith's constant nagging, because the next thing he knew he was laying on the floor of their cell, alone.

His head hurt, and his body was still incredibly sore, but he could move around a bit better, and managed to sit up just fine. He didn't know how long it had been or how long keith had been gone for, and silently cursed himself for falling asleep.

He sat there, staring at the door while he waited for them to bring Keith back.

How long had it been? Were their friends looking for them? Of course they were, they wouldn't just abandon them. But then why was it taking so long? Or had it not been that much time at all and it just felt like forever?

Lance couldn't tell if his stomach was hurting because he was hungry, or if it was just from the interrogations.

How long had he been asleep for? They had no way to tell time so Lance wasn't able to know if he'd been asleep for a few minutes or a few hours. What about days?

What were they doing to Keith? Did they just now take him and that's why he woke up? Did they take him a while ago and he didn't wake up when they did? Were they interrogating him for longer since they weren't interrogating Lance right now? Had they decided to keep them in separate cells from now on? The possibilities were endless and Lance couldn't stop himself from coming up with more and more, each one more horrible than the last.

He was broken from his spiraling thoughts when something clicked outside and the door was opened to reveal two guards holding a limp Keith between them. They tossed him inside the cell before slamming the door closed again and locking it.

Lance quickly crawled to Keith's side and brushed the hair out of his face, before moving to check for a pulse, Keith's stillness making the knot of worry in his stomach tighten. He thankfully found one, but it looked like he was having a bit of trouble breathing.

He didn't show any signs of waking up as Lance moved him so that his head was cradled in his lap, which was worrying, so he continued to check him over to see what all was wrong with him.

He had a few more bruises, and the skin around his wrists and ankles had been rubbed raw. One or two of his ribs seemed to be cracked if not broken, and the makeshift bandages had been removed, leaving his side wound open and unprotected. Lance also found a few more cuts and gashes underneath Keith's shirt, none of them were still bleeding though.

He sat there, gently running his fingers through his hair -staying away from the no longer bleeding gash on the side of his head- while waiting for him to wake up and hoping that he wasn't taken for his interrogation.

-

Lance didn't know how much time had passed, but at some point he had zoned out, but was snapped back to attention by a small groan.

He looked down and saw that Keith's face was scrunched up slightly, and a spark of hope and relief kindled inside of him.

"You waking up Mullet?" Lance asked softly as he pushed the hair out of Keith's face.

Keith groaned again and Lance watched as he sluggishly blinked his eyes open. "Wha?"

"Hey buddy," Lance said softly. "You scared me there for a while." He said as he helped Keith to sit up.

"Sorry." Keith muttered. "How long has it been."

Lance shrugged. "I don't know." He admitted before sagging slightly with a sigh. "Are you okay? I was...I was worried when you weren't here." He added softly, not looking over at Keith.

"I'm fine." Keith said, but Lance could see him wince when he shifted a bit. "Are you okay? Did they take you at some point?"

"No I've just been in here," Lance said with a small shrug. "I woke up and I just...I didn't know where you were, or how long it had been, or if you were dead or just in a different cell or something," He said as he leaned back against the wall with a sigh. "I just...I panicked a little..." he sighed again before closing his eyes, trailing off.

Keith frowned and shifted awkwardly. "Sorry." He said, not looking at him.

"Oh you don't need to apologize," Lance said with a sad laugh, "it's not like you chose to leave."

"I actually did." Keith muttered.

"I'm sorry, what?"

Keith shifted slightly, seeming hesitant, before turning to look at lance. "They came and were going take both of us even though you were unconscious, so I socked one of them in the face and fought them off a bit, but then more showed up and overpowered me," He said, "I had seen them close and lock the door behind us, so I thought they'd left you and only took me." He admitted.

"...I don't know whether or not to smack you or to thank you." Lance said.

"A 'thank you' would be much more appreciated than a smack, I'm still a bit sore." Keith said with a small shrug and a weak smile, trying to awkwardly lighten the mood and failing.

There was a small moment of silence between them, before Lance sighed softly. 

"We need to figure out how to get out of here." Keith said, turning to face Lance.

"I'm sure the others are on their way to get us." Lance said as he looked up at him.

"We can't wait around for them to find us," Keith countered, "we need to try and escape."

"How are we supposed to do that? We're weaponless and injured, surrounded by soldiers and sentries." Lance said.

"We jump the guards when they come here next," Keith says, "we'll steal their weapons."

"How are we supposed to fight them in our condition?"

"I don't know, trick them or something," Keith said, "make them come to us first and then attack when they don't expect it, try to knock them out before they can call for back up." Keith said with a shrug. "Literally anything other than just sitting here waiting to die or get rescued."

Lance stayed quiet for a few seconds, before sighing somewhat dramatically. "If we die I'm going to haunt your ass." He said, shooting Keith a small glare that had no heat to it.

Keith scoffed and rolled his eyes, "like you'd be able to haunt someone."

"Hey I'd be great at haunting people!" Lance defended with a huff.

"Sure you would, but let's not find out quite yet" Keith said, "for now we need to finish this plan if we ever want to escape."

Lance, despite wanting to continue arguing -since it had seemed to lighten the mood a bit and gave him a small twinge of familiarity in his gut- nodded. "You're right," He said.

-

Lance banged against the metal door with his fists and occasionally gave it a hard kick, causing as large a ruckus as he could to try and attract the attention of the guards, before jumping up to put his head near the grate, yelling through the small cracks.

"Hey! My friend won't wake up!" He yelled, his voice panicked as he kicked the door some more as he continued yelling. "He's barely breathing!!"

It had been a while before they were able to put their plan into action, since a group of guards had taken them for more interrogation this time. Luckily for Lance his interrogation wasn't electrocution this time, but instead they promised him food and a better cell and clothes if he told them anything. He obviously refused, despite his stomach protesting the decision. He didn't know how long it had been, but he was very hungry and thirsty. They'd given both him and Keith a small portion of water before they'd dragged them out for interrogating this time, but that was it.

Keith hadn't been so lucky, since he was still beaten, and even though he didn't say it, Lance had his suspicions that they'd electrocuted him too, if Keith's occasional twitching and muscle spasms said anything.

Lance kicked and slammed against the door some more as he continued yelling, trying to be as noisy and annoying as he could be while calling out for help for his friend. All the movement did hurt, but at least he wasn't as bad off as Keith.

Keith was laying on the ground behind him, pretending to be unconscious. His injuries were piling up and getting worse though. His breathing was shallow, probably due to whatever was wrong with his ribs, and the wound on his side has begun to form patches of puss and this yellow hunk in some areas, which was concerning since they didn't need Keith getting sick from an infection. He had more bruising and cuts and gashes, and something was wrong with his ankle and one of his wrists, but Keith had insisted that'd he'd still be able to walk and run.

Lance was about to kick the door again when he heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards the door, and he quickly backed away when he heard the door being unlocked, standing off to the side as it swung open.

A single guard stood there, which was perfect since they probably wouldn't be able to handle more than one in the state they were in without weapons.

The guard walked into the room, shooting Lance a warning glance they said he'd be in for a world of hurt if he tried to leave through the open door.

He moved to kneel next to Keith, and put to fingers to his pulse point to check and see if his heart was still bleeding.

Keith suddenly snapped his hand up and gripped the guards wrist, before twisting and slamming his other fist into the guards face, while Lance quickly ducked behind the guard and grabbed a pair of cuffs the guard had hooked to his belt, quickly clipping one side to the wrist that Keith was still holding, only to be elbowed in the gut and knocked backwards.

The guard wrenched his hand free from Keith's grip and stood up as he pulled out his gun, only for Lance to slam into him from behind, wrapping his arms around his neck and his legs around the guards torso before throwing his weight backwards to throw off the guards balance while also chocking him a bit.

The guard did stumble, and even flailed a bit as he began to roar out a call for help to any nearby guards, but then Keith was getting up and kicking the gun out of his hand, which he quickly scooped up and began to assess for any damage done to it.

The guard, angry now, purposefully slammed Lance back against the wall, crushing him between the guards body and the metal platting of the wall. He repeated this a few times before Keith finally shot a warning shot near the Galra's head, which made him stop.

Lance quickly slid off the guard back and pulled his arms backward, where he finished cuffing his wrists together. He then pulled the small taser off of the guards belt and pressed it against the guards neck before turning it on, watching the guard twitch a bit before collapsing to the ground.

The two of them stared at the guard, panting softly as they waisted to see if he'd get up. When he didn't love they both quickly rushed forwards o check do anything else the guard had as a weapon. Unfortunately they didn't find anything else, so they only had the taser and the gun for now.

"Come on, we'd better get-" Keith was cut off by the sudden sound of heavy footsteps running towards them, easily more then five sets.

"We gotta go." Keith said and then the two of them were running out of the cell and down the hall away from the group of guards chasing them.

"Do you remember the layout of the ship from the diagram allies showed us?" Lance asked as they turned down a sharp corner.

"Vaguely," Keith said, "if we can find where we are I can guide us towards where the hangar and escape pods are." they quickly went down a flight of stairs. "If this is the same model." He added with a small grunt.

They could still hear the guards running and yelling after them, which was soon accompanied by the sound of a wailing alarm and flashing red lights.

"Trade you." Lance said as he held out the taser to Keith, who quickly nodded and took the taser before tossing Lance the laser gun. The taser was close combat, so Keith would have an easier time using t if they needed to, and Lance was a better shot than Keith when it came to guns.

Lance paused at the next corner and turned to shoot a few lasers back at the guards, nailing a few of them before running after Keith.

"They'll start shoring ag is when we get into a straight portion of the hallway, there's too many corners in this area and they're not close enough to attempt a good shot." Lance said as he ran next to Keith.

"Okay, what do we do when we get to a straighter area?" He asked.

"Run faster."

They continued to run down the hallway, and unfortunately ran into another group of guards, so they were forced down another set of stairs, although now the guards were shooting at them.

"How close do you think we are to the hangar?" Lance asked as they ducked into a side corridor, although that might have been a bad choice since it was a long hallway with no corners to hide behind.

"From what I've gathered it's on the floor below us, or the floor below that." Keith said, "we're getting close but we need more time."

"I don't think that's something we have, look." Lance said as he pointed ahead of them.

At the end of the hallway, which was still decently far away, a large door was lowering down from the ceiling, aiming to cut them off from the rest of the ship and box them in.

"We won't make it to that in time." Keith said as the two of them tried to run faster."

"Maybe there's another way, or a panel you could open." Lance said as he turned to shoot at the guards again while still running. It made his shot a bit more sloppy, but it was better than nothing.

"If there's not then we're trapped." Keith said as Lance turned back around.

"Let's hope that there-" Lance was cut off with a sharp oof as a bola was thrown from behind them and wrapped around lances body, causing him to crash to the ground with his legs wrapped and his arms pinned to his sides.

Keith slid to a stop, and quickly moved to untie him when Lance suddenly cried out and his body spasmed and Keith snapped his hands back.

Electricity crackled across Lance's body from the bola, and Lance writhed on the ground in pain before going limp with a small groan as the electricity stopped.

"Lance, you gotta stay with me." Keith said as he rolled Lance over onto his back to see if he was still conscious. His eyes were barely open, and he seemed pretty dazed and out of it. But the guards were catching up and almost upon them, they didn't have time for this.

Keith quickly weighed his options: carry Lance and keep running; stand and fight to protect Lance and try and fend off the guards; leave lan- no. He wouldn't abandon him.

Keith growled angrily and snatched up the gun before moving to stand over Lance protectively before firing at the guards, trying to take as many of them out as he could with the gun before he had to actually fight them hand to hand. But his aim wasn't as good as lances, especially with the state they were in. Thankfully the heavy dose of adrenaline coursing through him helped to fend off the pain from his injuries, but that wouldn't last forever and they didn't have much time.

He let out a string of growled curses as the gun was shot out of his hands and he quickly readied the taser instead.

But it was pretty useless. He only managed to knocked out a few guards before he was quickly over powered and pinned to the ground roughly before being electrocuted himself, his body spasming with a yell due to the high voltage before limply falling back to the ground as his vision faded and he was left struggling to breath in the after shocks and muscle spasms.

He felt hands left him up and begin to drag him somewhere, but his vision was swimming and fading between black and blurry so he couldn't really tell what exactly was happening. Everything hurt and it was hard to breath, and he could feel his heart hammering in his chest wildly.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but he soon found himself being tossed into a cell, the door quickly slamming and locking behind him as he panted heavily to try and get some much needed oxygen into his lungs.

He didn't know how long he laid there for, every nerve flaring with pain at the slightest movements, but he eventually managed to sit up and look around a big, trying to get his vision to stop swimming.

"Lance, you okay?" He groaned softly as he lifted s hand to his head, which was throbbing painfully.

He eventually peeled his eyes open, not having realized he'd closed them, and looked around again when he didn't hear a response.

"Lance?"

Keith's eyes scanned the room. There was nothing in the room. Just a plain metal box with a locked door with only a small window for light. There was no lance.

He was alone.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And huzzah  
> Here we are  
> The second chapter  
> Wooooo  
> Hopefully you guys liked the first chapter!!  
> And again, your handy-dandy swearing, violence and blood warning

Lance sat in the corner of his cell, his knees tucked to his chest as he tried to get some sleep.

He didn't know long he'd been in the cell for, He didn't know how long they'd been captured for, he didn't know how long it had been since he and Keith had been separated, he didn't know if Keith was even on the same ship as him or even still alive. 

It was terrifying.

After their escape attempt they'd tossed him into the cell and had left him there for who knows how long before coming in to cuff his hands together and give him water. They hadn't given him any food yet, so his stomach was constantly aching, but the water helped to fend off the gnawing hunger. It was probably some tactic to get him to spill information; starve him till he can't refuse anymore. He'd just have to deal with it until the others came to bust them out.

He'd been taken out for more interrogations, never at the same time of day since sometimes they'd leave him alone till he'd completely zoned out or fallen asleep, and other times it feel like barely an hour or less. Probably to keep him from making some sort of schedule or way to tell what time it was.

They'd become more brutal in their interrogation methods, and had bumped it up from electrocution and beatings to burning with hot metals, suffocating, isolation in utter darkness, and even some poking and prodding in a scientific manner, passing him on to the druids to cut him open a bit and look around to see what made him tick. They never went to far, and gave him strips of cloth to make shitty bandages with, but he could tell that some incisions where starting to become infected, which only made him worry about Keith and the wound on his side that had begun to fester an infection when they were still in the same cell.

He couldn't tell how long it had been, but he hoped that the others were still looking for them. Of course they were though, they wouldn't just abandon them -Hunk and him had been friends for a long time, and Shiro and Keith had some sort of past connection that Lance didn't really know much about, but they seemed pretty close. And then Pidge was their friend, and Allura and Coran were their friends as well, they wouldn't just abandon them. 

Unless they found other Paladins- no, even then they'd still look till they knew for sure him and Keith were dead. Unless the Galra had managed to trick them into thinking they were dead, but then they wouldn't have a bargaining chip if they needed it. Well, technically they would, but the others probably wouldn't believe it without proof and such, and who knows how long it be if that were even to happen. Lance didn't know how long he could keep his mouth shut for. Of course he wasn't giving up, but food was necessary and his mind and body could only take so much before he broke.

The door opened and he looked up from his spot in the corner to see two guards standing their, one of them walking in to pull him up and drag him out of the cell. They'd made a buddy system of sorts after their escape attempt, no guard was ever alone with him anymore, either paired up with one or two other guards.

They took him from his cell and dragged him back to the room he'd begun to grow unpleasantly familiar with.  
-  
He sat in his cell later, after he'd been dragged back, his head spinning not only from pain but also from a bit of info a guard had let slip.

'He's as stubborn as the other one, won't take a hint.'

The other one.

They had to be talking about Keith -and if they were then that meant that Keith was still alive and just in a different part of the ship, maybe even nearby.

There wasn't anything he could really do with this information, but it gave him a bit of relief to cling to, to tell him he wasn't entirely alone and that Keith wasn't gone yet.

Of course the guards could have been talking about a different prisoner, but Lance didn't want to let that squash the little bit of hope he was now holding onto.  
-  
Sleep wasn't easy. He was always worried about when they'd come to take him next, or worried that maybe at some point Keith would call out from wherever he was and Lance wouldn't hear him cause he was asleep, or worried that they bring him water but take it back before he could wake up and drink it. His mind was always buzzing every time he tried to close his eyes and sleep, so he began to get used to short naps and only dozing off, never fully asleep. Of course that meant he was never fully rested.

He'd also begun to feel a bit feverish the past few days -were they days? He didn't really know. A couple cuts had probably gotten infected, which meant he was getting sick. He'd occasionally get the chills, and would have lengths of time where he felt like he was boiling. Being hungry also didn't help, except for when he had the occasional bout of nausea -you can't throw up if you don't have anything in your stomach to begin with.

He'd just barely managed to doze off when the lock to his cell clicked and his muscles immediately tensed up. He peeled his eyes open, despite how heavy they were, and looked up as the door opened to reveal a tall guard. But it was odd, the guard was alone.

He watched warily as the guard looked down each end of the hallway before stepping inside the cell and closing the door behind him, but didn't lock it.

"You are the blue Paladin, yes?" The guard began as he walked forward and knelt next to where Lance was tucked into the corner.

Lance blinked at him in confusion. Wasn't it common knowledge on the ship that he was the blue Paladin. He nodded anyway.

"Good," the guard said, before reaching forward and grabbing lances wrist just behind the cuffs. "Can you stand? Walk?"

"I think so?" Lance said, confused as he watched the guard pull out a small disk that he slipped into the cuffs, before they clicked open and fell to the ground.

"Alright, I'm here with me team to help you and the red Paladin get out." The guard -was he a guard?- said as he stood up, helping Lance to his feet.

"Wait what?"

"I don't have time to explain, this is our best chance to get the two of you to a pod and out of here, can you keep up?" He asked as he moved back towards the door.

"I-maybe?" Lance followed him, his steps a bit shaky. He hadn't walked much since their last escape attempt, always being dragged from place to place. Being sick didn't help either.

"I don't want to take any chances, hop on." The galra knelt down with his back to Lance.

Lance hesitated, eye him warily, before getting onto the galra's back. Even if this was a trick it was better then just sitting in his cell rotting away.

The guy stood up, making sure Lance had a secure grip, before leaving the cell and running down the hall.

"My partner should meet us on the next floor down with the red Paladin, while the rest of our team continues to take down security." The Galra said as they turned around a corner.

It was hard to miss the unconscious bodies that littered the halls as they ran, and Lance couldn't help wondering why the alarm wasn't wailing -probably because of this guys 'team' taking down security or whatever.

He wasn't paying as much attention as he should have probably been, that is until they began to run next to another person who was cradling a very familiar figure in her arms.

"Keith," he muttered softly as he looked at his friend with a frown.

He didn't look conscious, his eyes closed and his head lolling against the woman's collarbone. His skin was a sickly pale, and Lance could see the thin sheen of sweat across his forehead. He must have gotten a pretty nasty infection, and if he'd been getting the same treatment as Lance then it was probably even worse than it would have been if they were in better conditions.

"He was barely conscious when I found him," the woman said as they continued to run, "he will require medical care as soon as possible." She added as they raced down a flight of stairs.

"We can fully assess both of their injuries when we-" the guy carrying Lance was cut off by the sound of yelling behind them, and the two Galra let out a string of what Lance assumed were grumbled curses in a language he didn't understand.

"They must have over powered the others." The woman carrying Lance hissed as they turned a sharp corner.

"If we're fast enough we'll make it to the hanger." The guy carrying Lance said with a huff.

He should be asking questions. What was happening, who were these people? Where were they going to take him and Keith? Is Keith alright?

He must have zoned out at some point because then he found himself lurching forward as his supposed rescuer skid to a stop behind a corner with a snarl, the Galran woman stopping with him. Lance could hear the heavy sound of footsteps from down the corridor behind them, and the sound of laser guns firing and their shots hitting the walls.

"It's to dangerous to try and take them on our own, if we hold them off they might make it to the pods." The woman said gruffly as she kneeled down and pulled a knife off of her belt, cradling Keith with her arm and supporting him with her bent knee.

The guy holding Lance quickly lowered him to the ground.

"Paladin, can you run?" He asked as he turned to Lance, gripping his shoulders.

"Uh-yes?" Lance said as he looked up into the mans yellow eyes. They were warm, like sunflowers.

"Good, my partner and I are going to stay behind and give you and the other Paladin some time to get to the hanger." He said, "it's on the floor below us, and the escape pods are on the far left side from the entrance, you can't miss them." He continued. "You need to carry you friend and get to the pods, they should all be accessible if our team managed to finish their job before they were over taken."

"The pods should have food, water, basic medical supplies and other supplies," the woman pipped up, "don't stop until your in the pod and have launched it." She added.

"Wait, what going on, who are you, how can I trust you?" Lance said as he looked between the two Galra that towered over him.

The woman's thick lizard-like tail flicked slightly. "We don't have time to explain, just know that not all Galra agree with Zarkon, there are still some that fight him." She said, "now take your friend and go."

Lance opened his mouth to say something else, but was cut off by a small explosion down the hallway that shook the foundations of the hallway. Instead he quickly turned and let the woman lower Keith onto his back so that Lance could carry him.

He hesitated as he looked at the two of them as they readied their weapons.

"Thank you." He said, before taking off as fast as he could down the hall.

His ankle still hurt, along with every other injury and the gnawing hunger and his parched throat, but the adrenaline and panic dulled everything. 

He could hear Keith shallow breathing in his ear, and willed himself to run faster as he heard the sound of fighting behind him. He couldn't let them get more hurt in the state they were already in, especially with Keith being sick

Down the stairs. To the left. Get in the pods. Down the stairs. To the left. Get in the pods. Down the stairs. To the left. Get in the pods. Down the stairs. To the left. Get in the pods. Down the stairs. To the left. Get in the pods. Down the stairs. To the left. Get in the pods. Down the stairs. To the left. Get in the pods.

He repeated the directions in his head over and over again as he ran, blocking out everything else as he finally found the stairs and began to make his way down, having to slow his pace a bit to make sure he didn't slip and send him and Keith tumbling down.

He couldn't hear the fighting anymore, but he didn't slow down as he ran out of the stair well and into a large room filled with ships and landing pads, the walls lined with purple and red lights.

He immediately ran to the left, ignoring the sudden shouts from whoever was in the observation room that over looked the hangar, ignoring the thudding footsteps that suddenly appeared behind them and ignoring the lights as they began to flash.

He had to quickly scramble to a stop as he reached the pods, and immediately wrenched one of them open, a wave of relief rushing through him when it opened without needing to scan his hand.

He ducked inside and immediately slammed the door behind him, quickly twisting the latch to lock it before taking a second to stop and breath.

Holy mother of fucking shit. Holy shit. They'd actually gotten out.

He didn't even try to stop his ragged breathing as he stumbled to the front of the pod, carefully settling Keith down into one of the front chairs and buckling him in, before getting into the one next to him and buckling himself in as well before turning to the controls.

He could hear the sounds of thumping and yelling on the back off the pod, but ignored it as he flicked a few switches and actually got the pod activated, before setting it to launch. He quickly punched in the coordinates he though belonged to a friendly planet they'd helped free not too long ago that hopefully wasn't too far. It hadn't been too far when they'd been captured, but Lance didn't even know where they were at this point or how long it had been, so he hoped for the best.

His hands were shaking, his legs were shaking, everything was shaking as his body tried to handle the adrenaline still coursing through him, and he couldn't help sagging into his chair as he felt the pod lurch forward and shoot out of the main ship.

His body felt numb yet oversensitive at the same time, like when he'd been electrocuted, but it was different this time. He felt a bit floaty too, but he was still mostly aware.

Fuck he should check on Keith shouldn’t he-

Lances thoughts were cut off by the pod suddenly lurching to the side and spinning out of control, warning sounds that we're drowning out by the defaming boom behind them and lights flashing that were muted by the blinding light that engulfed the pod as Lance quickly struggled to get them righted, although he was disoriented by the sudden explosion, and it took him a while to get them back to flying smoothly, his heart hammering in his chest wildly.

He turned in his seat to look at Keith, who was still passed out in the chair, and Lance was thankful that he'd strapped him in since he would have smashed his face on the controls during the explosion if he hadn't.

He unbuckled himself and went to go check out the supplies the pod was stocked with, eager to pain medication and food.

The pod was stocked with food rations and a few containers of water, along with two med kits, although one was more simplistic than the other. Thankfully Lance had paid attention when Coran had show them similar med kits that were stashed in their lions, so he could figure out what most of the stuff was.

He peeled off his shirt and pants, hissing softly as they scrapped over his bruises and sensitive cuts, before assessing his injuries to see what needed to be dealt with first.

He cleaned his infected cuts and bandaged them, along with applying a cream to his bruises and to his burns, before also wrapping his ankle as best he could, and taking a bit of what he happily recognized as pain medicine. It kicked in a bit faster than the stuff back on earth, but didn't last for a too long.

He found spare sets of under armor, all black and semi-snug, but had to find the smallest sizes he could since the Galra had a significantly larger build than most humans, especially compared to lances lanky teenage body. It was still pretty baggy, but he could curl the edges of the pants and sleeves, and tie the hem of the shirt and tighten the belt as much as he needed -it was better than nothing.

He then went back to where Keith was and carefully unbuckled him from his seat, earning a soft groan from his unconscious friend, before carefully picking him up -thankful that the pain meds had kicked in, other wise his body probably would have protested the action now that he's not numb from adrenaline- and carried him over to where he'd pulled out the supplies. He needed enough room to lay Keith down and check him over, and there was more room in the back of the pod.

He carefully peeled Keith's shirt and pants off, and winced as he looked at the gash on his side. It was inflamed and a bit swollen, with sickly yellow scabbing in some areas and puss. That'd be painful to clean, since he'd need to scrub away all the puss and yellow gunk, hopefully Keith was out of it enough to not lash out at the pain, or awake enough to realize it was Lance before trying to kill him.

He then checked his ribs, which he decided weren't broken since he didn't seem to have too much trouble breathing, but were either heavily bruised or a bit cracked. He had bruises ranging from a sickly yellow to a dark purple just like Lance, and dozens of cuts like Lance as well, a few of which were also a bit infected. The gash on his head seemed to be doing fine, and nothing looked sprained or life threatening, so Lance just hoped he didn't miss anything and began to start cleaning his wounds, ignoring the small painful groans that slipped out of Keith's mouth as he did.

He started with the smaller infected cuts, since they weren't as bad as the one on Keith's side, and soon had them nicely bandaged, he then applied a cream to help with the bruises and on the burns, and debated for who knows how long on if he should wrap his ribs, before ultimately deciding not to in fear of making whatever was wrong with them worse by messing with them.

He bit his lip as he checked over the gash on his side again. It was definitely going to hurt -should he try to wake Keith up? To at least give him some pain meds and maybe something to bite down on? People did that when they did something painful right? He thinks he remembered seeing that in a movie....although he didn't know how accurate that was.

"Keith," He said softly as he gently shook his shoulder to try and wake him up, avoiding the bruises and burns that were there, "Come on mullet you gotta get up for me." He said as he shook his shoulder a bit more.

It took a bit more prodding to wake him up, but he eventually got Keith to peel his eyes open, and a bit of relief washed over him despite the slightly hazy look in Keith's eyes -he probably had a fever if not that and a concussion.

" 'ance?" Keith slurred as he squinted up at him, and Lance couldn't help smiling as he nodded.

"Hey Keith, how you feeling?" He asked as he gently pushed some of Keith's hair out of his face. It really was getting long, maybe he could convince Keith to let him cut it, or at least braid it back or something.

Keith let out a low hum that almost sounded like a whine, "not good." He mumbled as he closed his eyes again.

"Hey, I know you don't feel good but you gotta stay awake for me bud, okay? Can you keep your eyes open for me?" He asked as he gently patted Keith's cheek.

Keith slowly slid his eyes back open, and he looked up at Lance.

" 'ere we?" He asked as his eyes lazily looked around them, although Lance couldn't tell if he was actually processing what he saw.

"We escaped, and are in a pod right now." He said softly, "do you remember anything about that?"

"No..." Keith mumbled as he let his eyes drift back up to Lance.

"That's okay, I'll explain everything later" Lance assured him, "but hey, for now I need to take care of that nasty gash on your side okay? think you could drink some water and take a bit of pain medicine?" He asked.

"Maybe." Keith said with a half shrug that only earned himself a wince from a twinge of pain on his back.

"Let's try -I'm going to sit you up okay?" Lance said, and waited until Keith nodded before carefully lifting him up, wincing slightly as Keith hissed and began to mutter curses as Lance gently moved him to lean against the wall.

"Yeah, that's gunna be a real fun wound to clean up." Lance said as he got up to get Keith some water and the pain medicine. "Hopefully the meds will help though, they kick in in roughly five minutes." He added.

" 'hope they fucking do 'cuz holy fuck that hurts..." Keith growled out.

"Don't worry, Dr.Lancey-Lance will get you all nice and fixed up, maybe I'll even fine you a lollipop or a sticker if you're a good boy." He teased as he came back with a small pouch of water and the medicine.

Keith scoffed softly, but ended up breaking into a small coughing fit that had him tensing from pain and gasping softly. It was worrying to say the least, but Lance pushed his worries away for now.

"I'd rather let the infection run its course, I don't know if I trust Dr.Lancey-Lance." Keith muttered as he carefully took a few sips of the water before taking the medicine, making a sour face at the taste.

"Yeah it's pretty bad, drinking a bit more water helps though." Lance said with a sympathetic smile.

Keith nodded and took another few sips of the water before passing the pouch back to Lance and leaning his head back against the wall, closing his eyes again as he panted softly.

"Where we headed?" He asked softly.

"To that one planet, Azook or something, I think I got the coordinates right." Lance said as he sat down next to Keith. He'd lay him down and clean his wound when the medicine kicked in.

"It's called Edzuk, do you know how close we are?" Keith asked.

"Not a clue," Lance said with a shrug, "didn't really get a chance to try and figure out where exactly we are, but the pods' on autopilot, so we'll get there eventually."

"Hopefully before we run out of supplies." Keith muttered.

They sat in silence for a bit after that, a thousand thoughts a minute flickering through their heads -most of them half baked or even over cooked due to their fevers respectively, since Keith's fever was most definitely worse than lances.

When Lance turned back to Keith to tell him they should clean his wound now, he found that Keith had dozed off, and was panting softly in his sleep. His skin was still a sickly pale, and his cheeks were a bit flushed, but he didn't have the sheen of sweat across his forehead anymore, which Lance thought was a good sign.

He gently moved Keith so that he was laying down, and quickly went about gathering the bandages and supplies to properly clean his side.

He wasn't surprised when Keith's eyes snapped open and he suddenly tensed up the moment Lance touched the cloth to his wound, but he ignored him in favor of getting it over with.

He tried to clean it as quickly and as gently as he could, but it was going to be painful until he finished and bandaged it. Keith was handling it pretty well though -although Lance was a bit nervous that he'd bite through his lip if he bit down any harder.

By the time he was done Keith's breathing was much more ragged, a majority of his skin was flushed red, and he was covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"Jesus fucking Christ." He heard Keith mutter as he wrapped the bandages around Keith's torso, being extra careful about his ribs.

"Yeah, that was a nasty one," Lance said as he finished wrapping him up. "Do you need anything?" He asked.

"Clothes," Keith muttered as he let his head loll to the side limply, "it's freaking freezing."

Lance placed a gentle hand to Keith's forehead, and winced at how hot it was. Yeah, definitely worse than lances own fever.

"Well there are some clothes, but prepare to be practically swimming in them cause they don't carry human sizes." Lance said as he got up to find another set of under armor for Keith to wear, trying again to find the smallest sizes he could.

"I don' fucking care 'long as it stays on my body and I can sleep in 't." Keith muttered, and Lance guessed he was starting to drift off again.

"Want to try and eat something before you sleep? They have rations that don't actually look half bad." Lance said as he carried the bundle of clothing over to where Keith was still laying.

Keith shook his head slightly. " 'don think I can keep an'thing down now..." he mumbled softly, earning a concerned frown from Lance. He probably hadn't eaten for just as long as Lance, and Lance was just about ready to tear into a packet of rations -but maybe it was the fever keeping Keith's apatite away.

"Well, okay, but you gotta eat something later -I'll force it down your throat if I have to." He said with a smile as he gently sat Keith up and began to dress him, trying not to disturb his side or his other injuries to much in the process.

He eventually got Keith all dressed and tucked securely back into the seat at the front of the pod, having ignored Keith's protests that he could walk on his own and carried him there before practically smothering him with one of the thin but still warm blankets that had been stocked in the pod.

He was asleep now, which was probably a good thing, but Lance was still a bit concerned about the ever present sickly flush on his cheeks and his ragged breathing. He'd have to try to find something in their supplies that could help with that.

He ate a bit of rations, they felt heavy and odd in his empty stomach, but he didn't end up throwing up, so he counted it as a win. He then went to the front of the pod where Keith was and tucked himself into his own chair to try and get some sleep. Sure it might be a bad idea for them to both be asleep, but the pod was on autopilot and Lance was sure he'd wake up if there was trouble.  
-  
He woke up to having his face smashed into the dashboard and alarms blaring around the pod.

He jerked back upright and quickly looked around to try and see what was happening.

Screens had popped up, screaming warnings at him and damages done to the ship, and other lights where flashing in accompaniment with the wailing alarms.

He couldn't read the galran warnings though, and made a mental note to learn in the future as he tried to find the problem.

The problem was right in their face, literally.

An asteroid belt.

Their pod had flown straight into asteroids while it had been on autopilot, and apparently it hadn't recognized the belt and had managed to crash into a few of the astroids, which had caused the sudden alarms, lights, and warning.

Keith was still out like a light in the seat next to him, fortunately Lance had buckled him in all the way, so he hadn't been jostled around to much yet. He didn't know if he should be relived or worried that he wasn't awake, but pushed those thoughts aside in favor of trying to get them out of the astroids, he'd check on Keith later.

Turning off the autopilot, he quickly began to try and steer around the astroids, but the ship was already damaged from earlier and wasn't moving as smoothly as Lance would like, and he had a small hunch that either their fuel tanks had been busted, or some of their boosters. The ship seemed unbalanced and slower than it should be, but he still managed to dodge a few of the astroids -he couldn't avoid all of them though.

If he had been in his lion this would have been easy, not only was he more comfortable flying her, but she was faster, more agile, and didn't lag when he tried to turn, unlike this piece of junk pod that seemed to want to dive nose first into the closest astroid instead of getting away from it.

It seemed like everything he did made it worse though, as a lose astroid practically bodychecked them to the side and send them spiraling out of control. The boosters were out and some nearby planet had sucked them in with its gravitational pull, being at the heart of the astroid belt.

He let go of the controls in favor of trying to brace himself for whenever they hit the plant. They were going to fast and he didn't have control of the pod anymore, he'd just have to hope they survived whatever moon or planet they crashed on.  
-  
He must have blacked out at some point, because the next thing he knew was only pain, a sharp ringing in his ears and the smell of smoke.

He groaned softly and sluggishly opened his eyes to look around. The entire front view shield of the pod was dark and a spiderweb of cracks, but had held strong and hadn't cut him to ribbons. There weren't any alarms blaring, but plenty of sparks were shooting off across the entire dashboard.

His seatbelt had held strong as well, leaving him to dangle from his seat limply. Their pod must have crashed nose first.

If he unbuckled his seatbelt then he'd fall onto the view shield and risk becoming a glass pincushion, but if he didn't he'd just be stuck hanging there.

Maybe if he could twist to hold his chair while he unbuckled, and then lowered himself to stand...

He looked to the side to try and see if Keith was okay. He was dangled from his seat like Lance, except his was still as limp as a rag doll, and his hair had fallen down to hide his face as well. The dangling probably wasn't good for his ribs, but he didn't look too banged up from their landing.

Lance carefully twisted around in his seat, and grabbed onto the headrest before reaching back to unbuckle himself, and managed to hold himself up before lowering his feet down to stand on the cracked view shield, which created a little bit, but didn't give out under his wait.

He shakily let out the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, and carefully moved over to Keith, ducking under him and wrapping an arm around his torso, before unbuckling him and catching him against his chest with a small oof.

He then gently lowered Keith to the ground and propped him up against the wall before checking him over.

Keith didn't seem to have any more injuries, except for maybe a bit more bruising on his chest from the seatbelts, but that wasn't too bad all things considered. He was still unconscious and his fever was still going strong, but there wasn't much Lance could do about that yet, maybe when they'd actually gotten out of the wreck that was once their pod and found shelter.

The pod was at an odd angle heading downward, so he'd have to climb his way up to the hatch at the back of the pod, and then he'd probably have to bust it open since he doubted anything in the pod was still working.

It was difficult, especially with his injuries, but he eventually managed to get a secured spot up by the hatch where he could work to get it open without having to worry about falling too much. He'd wedged himself into the space between the wall and supplies locker that was nearby hatch, keeping his lower half secured while allowing his upper half to move around and give him full use of his arms. He didn't know if or how he'd be able to get Keith out, he might have to wait till he's conscious and in a better state to move around, but for now he'd find a way to get himself out and try to figure out if it'd even be safe to explore around for better shelter and or food since their rations and water wouldn't last and he didn't know if the pods water reserves were even still intact. He didn't know what planet they'd crashed on, or if it was friendly or anything of the sort, but he'd rather know then be in the dark.

The hatch was sealed pretty tight, probably some protocol so that it didn't get wrenched open while still in space, but it should still be able to be opened -right? They wouldn't make a protocol for it to seal and not be forcibly opened Incase of an emergency right? Well, maybe they did and Lance just wasn't strong enough to get it open, the Galra were much stronger than humans were...

It took longer than he thought it would to open the hatch, and he actually had to climb back down to find something to try and pry it open since he hadn't been able to do it on his own, but he eventually wrenched the door open just enough to get himself through and outside.

The fresh air felt absolutely wonderful, as well as the warmth from whatever star posed as this planets sun as it hit his skin.

He looked around after he finished pulling himself out of the pod, only hissing softly when he bumped some bruises and burns. Surrounding them were lush trees with leaves ranging from dusty tans and browns to vibrant greens and popping yellows, and trunks ranging from browns, to reds, to yellows. They heavily resembled trees back on earth, but were still a bit off. Then there was the soil, which was a dull rusted red color and looked kinda like sand, but not quite.

Their pod had carved a large gash through the dirt in its landing, and there were bits of smoldering debris from the pod littered across the ground.

He carefully made his way off of the pod and onto the ground, still looking around him for any songs of animals or people, before taking in the damage of the ship.

The left side was completely shredded while the right was just skinned of some of the exterior. More than half of the boosters in the back where either crushed or just gone, and then there were more dents and scrapes than Lance could count.

The fuel tanks had been ripped open and had long since drained away, but it seemed as if their water was still fine.

It was far from functioning, and Lance didn't have the parts or even the knowledge on how to fix it, so they'd be grounded from now on until they were either rescued or if whatever species on this planet felt kind enough to give them a ship or at least a lift.

The pod didn't seem like it was in any danger of blowing up, which was good since that meant they could campout inside of it until they were ready to explore and find a more suitable spot. Now he just had to worry about both their injuries and keeping things from attacking them first -hopefully the people on this planet were friendly, if there even were people on the planet.

He eventually climbed back into the pod to check on Keith, who was still unconscious. It was concerning, and Lance hoped it was just his body sleeping off the fever and not something dangerous or deadly. He ate a bit more food, even though he wasn’t really hungry, before cleaning up the pod a bit and collecting all the spare clothes and blankets the pod was stocked with, and made a makeshift bed for both him and Keith to sleep on since it probably want good for them to sleep on the view shield that could potentially shatter and make pincushions out of the two of them.

Moving Keith was easy, and Lance quickly had him tucked in and wrapped with a few blankets. He then curled up in the small pile of under armor next to Keith and bundled himself up with the blankets. He didn’t care if it was still daytime outside. He was just tired and ready to sleep for as long as he could get away with.

It took awhile, but his mind eventually dragged itself into the nothingness of sleep and away from the hundreds of anxieties and thoughts flickering through his mind about how they were going to go on from this point and if they’d ever be found.

But that was a problem for them to deal with tomorrow, when they’re both -hopefully- awake and able to actually get started on making their situation better.

Tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is  
> The second chapter over 6500 words  
> Wooo  
> The next chapter will be out soon!!  
> Bye!!

**Author's Note:**

> How was this? I hope yalls liked it!  
> The next chapter will be out soon  
> Bye!!


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